I snapped these photos on 23 May 1970 shortly after 13 Conair TBMs had flown all the way across North America into Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, from British Columbia. My camera was a Kodak Instamatic so there is no great detail. I was an Air Traffic Controller in Fredericton Tower at the time and had watched these same Avengers flying over Halifax Harbor in the 1950s when they were with the Royal Canadian Navy. [Posted to TBMs – Mil & Civ 22 Dec 2014 by Barrie MacLeod.]

Conair #609 at Fredericton, August 1977, at about the time they were purchased by FPL.

Forest Protection Limited, Fredericton, NB #609 / #9 CF-KCL 1977-1978

Crashed 29 May 1978. TBM #609 FKCL owned by FPL and piloted by Ken Atkins ditched in Oromocto Lake after flying out of Blissville. While executing a turn at the end of a spray line, the pilot inadvertently dipped his left wing tip into the lake and lost control. The pilot was unhurt and was later picked up by the rescue unit after swimming to shore (20 yards) and flown to Blissville airstrip. The aircraft was recovered by military personnel from CFB Gagetown and towed to shore on a barge. After recovery from the lake, FKCL was loaned to Air Cadet Squadron in Nackawic in 1978 for an outdoor display.

3 responses to “CF-KCL / Skyway/Conair/FPL #609 / Bu# 53638”

Former Forrest Protection TBM-3, CF-KCL was restored to airworthy condition and is on display at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in Reading Pennsylvania, Not the Glenn L. Martin Museum as is listed elsewhere on this site. The 7 year restoration was undertaken by Jack Kosko, a former WWII TBM radio operator, and a team of several dozen volunteers. Mr Kosko purchased the TBM which was located in Maine after being sold by Forrest Protection. It was subsequently donated to the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in 2002 and registered as N109K.